Telling Tales On Del Rey

I am working on a piece for Ukulele Magazine about my old friend Del Rey and her reso ukulele built by Ron Phillips. I am not sure how much of our personal story will make it into the piece, so I thought I would start the writing process by leaving some anecdotes here for you. These are just off the top of my head, so please forgive me if this is more of a list than a finished piece, that comes later.

I first met Del Rey at Portland Ukulele Festival in 2006 or 2007. I flew out to teach a couple of classes and then my band, Boulder Acoustic Society, joined me for the concert and a west coast tour. I went to Del’s class teaching the song “Ready For the River,” which I still sing today. I have a vivid memory of sitting under a big tree at Reed College, listening to her play “Spanish Fandango” on her Kamaka 8 string uke. The next day, I bought a little reprint of an ukulele method book by John King, which also had “Spanish Fandango” in it. The next week I was in Berkeley and Al Dodge showed me how he played “Spanish Fandango.” I then made my own arrangement in the back seat of the van on the way home from California. I put this piece in our finger style ukulele book and I have taught and played it all over since then. I am grateful to her for planting the seed.

Sometime around 2009-2010, I was booked for an event at Dusty Strings in Seattle. I flew out to spend the weekend teaching and my band drove out to meet me for another tour. Del knew I was coming and invited me to crash at her place the night before. She said, “Take xxx bus to xxx stop from the airport and I’ll pick you up.” I did as I was told and she met me at the bus stop…with her bicycle! I hopped on the back (with luggage and uke) and we pedaled to her place. Del doesn’t drive, so often tours by train and bike, which is easier overseas than in the US. At the time she lived in a tiny house behind Matt Weiner. Matt is a good friend and amazing bass player, but I didn’t actually meet him this visit. The next morning was cool and rainy, so we stayed inside, drank coffee and talked, a very Seattle day.

Around the same time, I was giving ideas to Michael at Swallow Hill for the Denver uke fest. I recommended Del for the gig and she came out with the Yes Yes Boys, which included Matt, a clarinet player and a percussionist. I finally met Matt and got to watch him play. I can’t find any Yes Yes Boys on YouTube, but you can download the whole record for free here. When I talked with Del last month, she mentioned that trying to lead a four piece band on ukulele led her to asking Ron Phillips to make her a reso uke. The one she plays is made of nickel silver, is soprano sized and tuned ADF#B with a high A. Perfectly bright and great for leading a band.